New Info Reveals How The State Of Wisconsin Attempted To Shut Down ‘Making A Murderer’

Can you imagine a world without Making a Murderer? We can’t. However, as revealed during the Netflix filmmakers’ Twitter Q&A yesterday, the state of Wisconsin attempted to shut down production on the docu-series.

The 10-part series follows Steven Avery, a Wisconsin native who was exonerated from prison in 2003 thanks to new DNA evidence. However, Avery’s freedom is short-lived as he becomes the main suspect in Teresa Halbach’s murder. Avery is currently serving life in prison, and the documentary raises the question of whether or not Avery was framed for this crime. As the filmmakers, Moira Demos and Laura Ricciardi, explained yesterday during their Twitter Q&A, the series was meant to serve as an exploration of the underlying corruption of the legal system, but most fans have been focusing more on Avery’s guilt or innocence.

However, Steven Avery wouldn’t be a household name today and the Internet would be rid of a few hundred think pieces if the state of Wisconsin had its way. According to Twitter, state officials tried to use a bit of legal maneuvering to shut down production:

Here are all the tweets:

This isn’t exactly breaking news as Demos and Ricciardi have talked about the subpoena multiple times. In fact, they have often referenced the court’s ruling on the state subpoena as a reason for why Ken Kratz’s criticisms are basically not worth responding to. He’s still treating the pair as the investigative branch he claimed they were, though that’s not what Making a Murderer is. If you want a subpoena breakdown, here it is:

Ken Kratz (surprise!) filed a subpoena against all footage related to the investigation, alleging that the pair were acting as an investigative arm of the defense. Demos and Ricciardi, who at the time were two struggling filmmakers without Netflix’s deep pockets to lean on, understandably panicked, but Ricciardi came to the rescue. Before taking the 10-year docu-series plunge, Ricciardi had a legal background. She filed a motion to quash the subpoena, saying that Kratz’s claims were baseless. The subpoena also claimed that Demos and Ricciardi had evidence about Teresa Halbach’s murder that they were not releasing to the courts (impossible because the pair tried to stay out of the investigation as much as possible), and he requested to have access to all of the filmmakers’ communications with Avery. That last bit gave the filmmakers pause and made them questions Kratz’s intentions, especially since the state already had access to all of Avery’s communications (he is in prison, after all). Thankfully, the judge ruled in favor of our filmmakers, and the rest is true crime history. You can read about the subpoena in more detail here.

Other notable moments from the Twitter Q&A include why Teresa’s creepy interactions with Avery were not addressed in the series …

… the reminder that anyone can be unfairly convicted, just FYI …

… and a plea for all of us to work together to make our legal system better.

You can read the full Q&A on the Making a Murderer Twitter account.